Johannesburg - Despite talks of looming recession, record fuel prices and new vehicle shortages, South Africa’s vehicle market continued its upward momentum in June 2022.
A total of 41 091 new vehicles were sold last month, a 7.6% increase over June 2021, according to figures released by the National Association of Automobile Manufacturers of South Africa (Naamsa).
The passenger car market, still riding the rental car renewal wave, grew by an impressive 20.6% year-on-year, while the light commercial market plunged by 20.8%, largely due to the limited availability of Toyota Hilux bakkies following the April floods and subsequent plant closure.
Nonetheless, the Japanese carmaker still managed to find 969 units to sell to customers, while Ford took top honours in the bakkie sales game, with 1 601 Ranger sales.
On the passenger car front, the Suzuki Swift was South Africa’s favourite vehicle overall for the second month in a row, with 1 925 units finding homes, of which 675 were snapped up by the rental industry. The Toyota Urban Cruiser took second place overall with 1 785 sales, no doubt buoyed by the lack of Corolla Cross stock, while the Volkswagen Polo Vivo took the final podium spot with 1 619 sales.
SA’S 50 TOP SELLING VEHICLES: JUNE 2022
There were some surprises lower down in the rankings, with the Opel Corsa (514 sales) and recently face-lifted Suzuki Baleno (340) both achieving far higher than their previous sub-100-unit performances. Narrowly missing out on the top 50 were the Toyota Fortuner (158) and Land Rover Defender (156).
Despite the shortages of critical models following its temporary plant closure, Toyota still sold the most vehicles in Mzansi last month, with a total of 7 086 units finding homes. It was followed by Volkswagen (5 652), Suzuki (4 622), Hyundai (2 917) and Nissan (2 370).
Although South African vehicle sales continue to defy the odds, Naamsa warns that rising food and fuel prices, along with higher interest rates, are expected to lower demand for “non-essential” items in the coming months.
According to WesBank’s communications head Lebogang Gaoaketse, the first half of 2022 saw overall sales of 253 442 units. This is an encouraging increase of 11.4% versus the first half of 2021, but it must be seen in context, he added.
“While we should celebrate this recovery of new vehicle sales, this performance must be considered within the context of more stringent Covid-19 regulations during the first half of last year,” Gaoaketse said.
“Based on similar performance during the second half of the year, it is possible to see a South African new vehicle market exceed 500 000 units this year.”